eBAM has been the graveyard of hopes and dreams of many suppliers and consultants, due to it being misunderstood and over-sold, but it’s role and application are now clear. Listen to our discussion with Dan Gill who has been in the bank relationship business for 20 years and learn:

why you need to manage bank accounts from a risk perspective:

what controls are needed and the dangers of de-centralised corporate treasury

the type of systems to use and who should manage them

why sychnronisation of bank account details is critical.

eBAM - the realities:

eBAM’s core idea and why it should be called SWIFT eBAM

how use eBAM in managing bank relationships

need to insist that your banks used SWIFT 20022 messages in bank account reporting and management

why an eBAM showdown is coming between large corporates and the banks.

Comments

Thanks for a very interesting and fresh perspective on electronic bank account management, combining risk management and internal controls framework, expense monitoring and controls, and treasury processes assessment, apart from a lively, though brief introduction to ISO 20022.

It would be interesting to know Dan’s views on where Treasury Management Systems could figure in setting up the new dynamic of e-BAM, and if there are any systems out there in a readily implementable mode that have as their objective the delivery of all of the above aspects.

Thanks, again, Ganesh

By Dan Gill on 11th Aug 2016:

Hi Ganesh, thank you for you comment. I think the Treasury Management Systems can play a huge role in bringing eBAM into the forefront where it needs to be. If a company banks with multiple banks, then using single bank portals will be difficult at best. In my view, a company needs that central repository in their treasury management system so that the can establish and maintain the effective controls around the accounts. The role of eBAM then becomes one of synchronizing the information the company has with the information the banks have, or what I like to refer to as closing the audit gap.
At this point in the treasury industry though, there is a significant gap in capabilities to help treasury do this. There are a number of systems that can perform the basic eBAM functions, but many appear to be taking a wait and see attitude towards eBAM, which further slows the progress. As former leaders in the market are stepping back from pushing the eBAM market, I believe it will be up to treasurers to communicate to their vendors that closing this audit gap between treasury and it’s banks is one of the most critical functions to make available. With enough demand from treasurers, I am confident that the TMS vendors will respond with robust options that could previously only be found in dedicated or home grown systems.